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Everyone knows that, when it comes to gifts, there are three types of guys: the guy who’s really sweet, tries hard, and generally manages to get it right; the guy who’s really sweet, tried hard, and still fouls things up pretty often (but he’s cute and sweet so you try to forgive him); and the guy who just doesn’t try very hard at all, so you’re pretty excited when he gets you something more interesting than a toaster.

As chance would have it, most guys seem to be most like guy number 2—he tries to catch your hints, and he always puts a lot of thought and heart into your gifts, but a lot of times, he just misses one or two details that happen to be, well…CRUCIAL! But we all love him anyway.

Like any girl, you really, really want him to get you something good for Valentine’s day, if only because you can’t stand the hangdog look he gets when he sees that you don’t like his Valentine’s gift. So here’s a hint—online wish lists are your friend.

I know, I know, how much thought could a guy really have put into a gift if you’ve already told him what to get you? But, if the alternative is “Hangdog Harry” for two weeks after Valentine’s, it may be worth the compromise. I mean, after all, he at least needed to think about which items on your wish list he thought would mean the most to you. And, of course, while he’s looking at the things in your wish list, he may find other things that you would like too—so even guy number 1 (the guy who always knows just the right gift) can be helped by a wish list.

As you know, my favorite jewelry store is Pugster, and I think their wish list is pretty cool. You just click on the “Add to Wish” list button in the product description, and when you’re done you can email to whoever you want. To demonstrate, let me show you what’s on my Pugster Wish List for Prince Charming this year:
A couple of months ago, I started my first European beads bracelet, and boy, am I addicted! They’re just so cute! And they’re so easy to slip on and off and rearrange. And they’re good for, literally, any occasion. I can wear them to dinner with grandma, or to a dinner party, or anywhere, and people are always commenting on my bracelet.

I love how this charm bead sparkles, with its Austrian crystals.

Again, I love how this little red heart is surrounded by sparkling crystals. And a little bit of color is always welcome.

I like my earrings dangly, and these pink heart-shaped Murano glass earrings are just gorgeous. And the thing I love about Murano glass is that it’s so versatile—it can be dressy or casual, and it looks great either way.

If Prince Charming is really feeling nice this year, this is what he’ll get me! I love how delicate this pendant looks hanging from its shiny white sheer ribbon. And it’s perfect for the spaghetti strap dress I want to wear out on Valentines.

More Murano glass earrings—actually, I think these would be great for wearing to work, or out to lunch with a friend. Casual and fun.

Sterling silver is great for Valentine’s Day, and I love how this cute heart outline kind of hangs at an angle. And while CZ is no diamond, it looks just as good when your man doesn’t quite make the big bucks yet.

This ring is sooooo cute! I love how feminine it looks with the dangling heart charm. I think I’m going to get this for one of my best girlfriends (we’ve been friends since preschool), but I’ll be jealous if I don’t get one too.

I met a friend of mine for coffee last weekend, and she was wearing this incredibly cute clasp charm bracelet, with all kinds of cute little charms, so I’ve been thinking about starting a bracelet myself.

As you know, I love Italian charms, and these deluxe charms are a really fun way to make a classier Italian charm bracelet.

I know it’s kitschy, but something about Valentine’s Day brings out the third-grader in me. Remember making “Be Mine” cards out of construction paper? I sure do, but Italian charms are easier.

What else needs to be said? Well, besides “I love it!”

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Italian Charms

Italian Charm Bracelet

Every year it’s the same drill: the Christmas decorations go up ever closer to the Halloween decorations just barely coming down!

The next thing you know, it’s Thanksgiving.

Then it’s the time for good cheer, for gathering our family and friends together and for celebrating the many joys of the season.

That’s when the morning paper weighs a ton because of all the sale circulars for the mother of all shopping days, Black Friday.

Sure, there are good deals to be had, but oftentimes getting to those deals requires dragging yourself out of bed at oh-dark-thirty so you can join the rush for the much-desired loss leader at your local retailer when it opens before the birds even start chirping.

Of course, the Internet has changed all that. It’s now quite possible (and even feasible) to make it through your entire shopping list without leaving the comfort of your warm, toasty home. You can even find some excellent deals that way.

But there’s still one problem with this comfy scenario: what do you get for that person who seems to have everything? What do you buy, other than clothes, for that person who is into fashion? What do you get for someone that really loves something personal? All these, and more, are where Italian Charms come in quite perfectly.

Italian Charms make great gifts for moms, dads, friends, and more. There are literally thousands and thousands of designs to choose from – and with many priced under $10, you’re sure to find something to fit your budget (OR, you can afford to get a few!)

As far as styles, you can select one designed for the person that collects a particular theme, like elephants, cats, angels and many more. Even better yet, you can get a Custom Laser Italian Charm or a Custom Photo Italian Charm!

These custom Italian charms allow you to choose your own name, phrase, or picture and have it placed on an Italian Charm – what better way to give a fun, fashionable, and most importantly, a thoughtful gift!

Italian Charms?

Ok, here’s the “brief” in case you’re new to the Italian Charm craze. Charms and keepsakes have been around for thousands of years, but it was not until the 20th century that charms became decorative fashion jewelry.

In 2001, fashion industries made it popular once again to wear charm bracelets. Since then a huge flood of styles and brands have entered America and most all of them have been accepted with open arms. Walk thru a crowd of people and you are almost sure to see a few bracelets, most of which have precious memories captured inside.

While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of a charm link. These flat, modular pieces form an Italian charm bracelet when they are hooked together.

Here’s the best part: since Italian charms have standardized sizing, they are compatible across brands!!

Building a Bracelet

The standard sized Italian charm is 9mm, which is measured diagonally across the piece. However, Italian charms are also available in small (5mm), large (13mm) and mega (18mm) sizes. Usually it takes around 16-18 charms to build a full bracelet.

When looking into purchasing Italian charms, you will come across the term starter bracelet. You will need to begin with a starter bracelet, which consists of eighteen blank links. In order to create a personalized Italian charm bracelet, these blank links are replaced, one by one, with selected designs of Italian charms.

The best bet is to replace around 3-5 of the blank links with Italian Charms – this will make a nice-looking Italian Charm Bracelet. Or, just start with 1 or 2 as a gift, and you’ve given someone a new collectible hobby!

Getting Started – Choose a Theme!

Italian charm collecting is similar to creating a wardrobe that is thoughtfully put together to reflect your personality and taste. Before you begin purchasing individual charms it is a good to decide on how the pieces will work together. You will want to choose a theme for your bracelet. This theme could be anything – a list of family names, pictures from a vacation, animals, hobbies, or anything that you think fits!

You may want to focus on one color or even color combination. With so many choices available in charms, you can get as specific as you’d like with your theme. Another idea is to make a keepsake bracelet that tells your life story. With this kind of a theme, your charms can be selected or even custom made to commemorate achievements, and various aspects of your personality and life.

Where to Buy?

Purchasing Italian charms on eBay is exciting because there are thousands from which to choose. Often times you’ll find quick-selling auctions that start as low at $0.99, at the same time, finding some of the most beautiful and high-end Italian Charms on the market.

And with that, Happy Holidays and Happy Charm Shopping!

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Getting Creative with Italian Charms

Buying birthday gifts is tough! We want to give the perfect gift. Sometimes we just don’t know what to buy. This is what I faced this year as my long-time friend Amy’s birthday approached. What to get her? What to get her!

Amy’s favorite thing in the world is her little pug, Fluffy. She loves that dog! She also loves Italian charms. I thought to make her a Fluffy-themed Italian charms bracelet with custom and pre-designed Italian charms. As I was choosing Italian charms for Amy’s bracelet though, I had an Italian charms epiphany: Amy would love an Italian charms collar for Fluffy!

I picked Italian charms with doggies, ordered Italian charms with Amy’s pictures, Italian charms with Fluffy’s pictures, Italian charms with Amy and Fluffy together. I also bought standard Italian charms to fit the doggy theme. The collar was packed with photo Italian charms, laser Italian charms and painted Italian charms. It was beautiful! It was a blast!

By the time I put the Italian charms collar together I was really excited. The Italian charms looked great! What’s better, Amy loved Fluffy’s Italian charms collar and Fluffy did too. She said it was the perfect gift! Ooh the things you can do with Italian charms: the possibilities are endless!

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Spring forward…Fall back….

It’s ingrained in our consciousness almost as much as the A-B-Cs or our spelling reminder of “i before e….” And it’s a regular event, though perhaps a bit less regular than the swallows coming back to Capistrano.

Yet in those four words is a whole collection of trivia, facts and common sense about Daylight Saving Time.

The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, “An Economical Project.”

The idea was first advocated seriously by London builder William Willett in the pamphlet, “Waste of Daylight” (1907). In this, he proposed advancing clocks 20 minutes on each of four Sundays in April, and setting them back by that same 20 minutes on four Sundays in September.

Although standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law.

Daylight time became a local matter. It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 20 September 1945.

After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the “energy crisis” years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time. In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed permanently shifting the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time has not been subject to such changes, and has remained the last Sunday in October. With the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the starting and ending dates have once again been shifted. Beginning in 2007, daylight time will start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November.

For a very readable account of the history of standard and daylight time in the U.S., see

Ian R. Bartky and Elizabeth Harrison: “Standard and Daylight-saving Time”, Scientific American, May 1979 (Vol. 240, No. 5), pp. 46-53.

**Information compiled from the CA Energy Commission and the US Naval Observatory

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OK, I know this is going to sound kind of bizarre, but my friends and I were just hanging out this weekend, and somehow I started thinking about cancer, my family, and just generally being preoccupied about health. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I guess it’s just on my mind… because it’s also on the TV, the radio, in magazines, and ALL over the web, of course. Here’s a funny thing, though…there’s stuff about it all over, but no one wants to talk about it. I mean, I’m not obsessing over this or anything, but it seems kind of weird that I can find breast cancer mentioned 7 times in this month’s People Magazine, but if I bring it up with my friends they get freaked out and change the subject.

I guess it is kind of rare for girls my age to get breast cancer. But I know it happens. I also read that the kind of cancer that a girl my age can get is actually WORSE, so it’s really important to find out about it early. I’m not talking about going to the doctor and having a mammogram or anything, I’m talking about those self-check exams that you can do in the shower. They seem easy enough, and anyway, wouldn’t you rather…you know…KNOW? I would!

There’s so many great places on the web that discuss breast cancer, how to prevent it, detect it, survive it and what people are doing to STOP it…the best description I’ve found on how to do a self exam is the the Komen Cancer Foundation site: http://www.komen.org/bse/

Besides detecting any problems early – and getting help right away – I think it’s also a good idea to get used to what’s NORMAL for your body. If you don’t check it out all the time, how will you know if something different pops up? And no, I’m not talking about that horrifying, weekend-ruining zit that appeared before your date on Friday night, although I admit that probably caused nearly as much emotional damage!

If I ever found something weird with my body, I think the hardest part for me would be talking about it. It’s a good idea to try and find someone who you won’t feel uncomfortable sharing information with, whether its your doctor, your mom or dad, or your best friend…but do talk about it, don’t just read about it and think “It won’t happen to me”…try make SURE it won’t happen, instead!

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My Aunt Josie taught me to understand the Fall. Josie was my mom’s baby sister, the youngest of her family and more of a friend to me than just about anyone! We were friends first, family second. We shared jewelry, outfits, music, and books, and our summers, hanging out at her ranch. Josie was whip smart, financially independent and a fearless horsewoman. I think my mom was half terrified and half hopeful that I would take after her.

Personally, I’ve always lumped Fall with that impending dread of school, and the end of Summer was somewhat a time of adolescent gloom. I just hated that all the leaves, flowers and grass would be dying, and the days would get shorter, and there was just that unbearable sense of ENDING. I preferred springtime, the sense of new things growing and the excitement of a Summer full of fun ahead!

Aunt Josie loved autumn. And she took it kind of personal that I didn’t. Over the course of our summers together, she did manage to convert me to appreciate the changes brought by this season of death. Renewal of the earth and all that jazz. That leaves would die in a blaze of glorious color, fall to the ground and renew the earth, so that new green leaves would appear on that tree come spring… she was really into that. She always said, spring can’t happen without fall passing before.

Those lessons of renewal and rebirth are really important to me, now, because Aunt Josie passed away 3 years ago, a victim of breast cancer. We totally didn’t see it coming, and if she knew about it much beforehand, she didn’t let on. I don’t mind saying that I was really scared, for a while…could it happen to me? I found a ton of stuff to read about detecting and preventing breast cancer, and lots of great organizations that are spending money on helping other women with the disease…but it’s still a very chilling thought.

At the end of our last summer together, Aunt Josie gave me a back-to-school gift of a necklace, a delicate glass pendant in the shape of a new spring green leaf. It was kind of an inside joke, I guess, from the Fall Fanatic to the girl who preferred the spring. When I wear it, I think of renewal, and rebirth. Instead of being sad about Josie, I try to think of the women who have and will survive to see the next Spring.

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For years now my grandmother and I have met every week for a visit: dinner and scrabble. It’s our tradition. I always stop for fried chicken along the way. It’s wonderful.

This week, after a very close game of scrabble, grandmother suggested we look at her “old” jewelry (she knows I love jewelry). She left the kitchen, returning with a small, marvelously embroidered jewelry box. Delicate, the small jewelry box looked like it held little jewelry.

What a surprise! Grandma’s jewelry box overflowed with gems: amethyst jewelry, CZ, peridot and ruby jewelry, sapphire and turquoise jewelry, pearl, garnet and quartz jewelry. I could go on and on.

It was a jewelry treasure trove! A magic pit of jewelry! Blackbeard’s jewelry booty! Every time I thought the jewelry box empty, grandmother lifted another gemstone, another dazzling specimen.

Grandmother had a story for every brooch and necklace, every bracelet, every set of earrings. We retraced her life through that jewelry. It was beautiful.

We spent hours over that jewelry box, talking and laughing. As I was leaving, I kissed my grandmother’s a cheek as I always do. Before I turned around, she grabbed my hand. From behind her back emerged the jewelry box. ‘I want you to have the jewelry box dear, and don’t say no,’ she pushed the jewelry box into my hands, ‘just remember.’

I was weepy all the way home. I’ve put grandma’s story, her jewelry box, on my mantle where I see it everyday…..remembering.

Mother-in-Law Day is October 21st! Click Here for some great gifts and deals!

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Wishing Good Luck to You!

Throw out that chain mail! It’s bad luck, a scam, people who write them are scary! That’s always what I’ve heard. Usually when I receive a chain letter, I’m spooked for days, burning sage, spreading bowls of salt about my apartment to ward off the nasties. Of course there are always exceptions. Recently I received a very tempting chain letter. I had to participate.

Gemstone Jewelry!

Through the years I’ve received chain letters for money and recipes, even clothes and sandals. I’ve always passed but this last letter, well, being the gemstone jewelry gypsy I am; I just couldn’t resist a gemstone jewelry trade. The letter went like this:

Hey Guys and Gals,

Love gemstone jewelry? Here’s your chance for more gemstone jewelry!

Your favorite gemstone jewelry!

Click Here - Jewelry Coupons by Email

Choose your favorite gemstone jewelry. Write your preferred gemstone (affordable please) beside your name and that’s the gemstone jewelry you’ll get!

It’s Easy!

Send a piece of gemstone jewelry (wrap that gemstone jewelry carefully) to the person at the list’s top. Try to buy that person’s favorite gemstone. Cross that person off, writing your name, address and favorite gemstone at the bottom. Send this gemstone jewelry letter onto five more people.

You’ll receive your first piece of gemstone jewelry within days!

I’ve sent this gemstone jewelry letter over a dozen times, and I’ve never been disappointed. I now have a lot of gemstone jewelry.

Try it! You can’t lose with free gemstone jewelry!

Free Gemstone Jewelry!

Girls, I’m glad, glad, glad to say I shook the spookies and took the gemstone jewelry letter leap. I’ve already received 11 pieces of gemstone jewelry! My favorite gemstone jewelry? Well, you’ll just have to keep your eyes open for the gemstone jewelry letter.

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A gemstone variety of quartz, the amethyst is the birthstone of February. It is known as the gemstone of spirituality and contentment. The Amethyst is also known to endow its wearer with stability, strength and peace.

The gemstone’s purple color is associated with royalty and has been used around the world to adorn regal crowns and jewels. Since amethyst is considered to symbolize piety and encourage celibacy as well as to represent humility, it is often worn by clergy of the Catholic Church.

Amethysts in History

The earliest recognition of amethyst comes from Ancient Greece – where the gemstone gets its name. Derived from the Greek,”amethystos” meaning “not drunken”, the name reflects the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.

This legend is drawn from a Greek myth about the god of wine, Bacchus. The myth tells that Amethyst, a beautiful woman, was condemned to death by the hands of Bacchus.

When the goddess Diana turned Amethyst to crystal to protect her, Bacchus was remorseful and wept tears of wine onto the crystal. This stained Amethyst purple. In Ancient Greece, drinking from a cup fashioned from amethyst was thought to prevent drunkenness.

Historically, this gemstone has been used by royalty and is included in the British Crown Jewels. They were also a favorite of Catherine the Great as well as the royalty of Egypt.

Origins and Presentation

Mined primarily in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina, amethysts are also found in African countries. Amethysts mined from South American countries are available in larger stones. Yet, African amethyst enjoys a reputation for deeper colors.

The gemstone ranges in color from pale, lilac-purple to a rich, deep color. The deeper, vibrant purple shades are considered more valuable. If it were not for the widespread availability of amethyst, the popular gemstone would be quite expensive.

This Amethyst Cross Ring is only $17!

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Hot Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have taken their international family to Pune, India, where they are starring in A Mighty Heart, a biopic of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was gruesomely beheaded in 2002 after being taken hostage by terrorists in Pakistan. On Sunday afternoon, Brad and Angelina left their little ones, two year-old Zahara and four month-old Shiloh, back at the swanky Le Merdidian hotel, to take five year-old Maddox on a motorized rickshaw ride through the city.

As a family unit, “Brangelina” has built its reputation being devoted globe-trotting do-gooding humanitarians, and so it is a tad ironic that the family’s rickshaw ride turned into a rumble when their bodyguards ran roughshod over the trailing paparazzi.

The ill-fated Pitt-Jolie family outing immediately brought to mind similar trips from my youth. Having endured another Sunday morning church service, I would be in the backseat of the car looking forward to a lazy afternoon of unstructured activity when Mom would say the words that I feared the most… “isn’t it a lovely day for a Sunday drive?”

To be honest, there really never is a good time to be trapped inside a motorized vehicle with your family. My parents weren’t internationally famous movie stars being stalked by paparazzi, but they had their own personal demons. Once behind the wheel of a car, my father refused to stop or slow down for any reason whatsoever. My mother was a romantic, who was completely oblivious to the boring reality of being a kid stuck in a car on a Sunday afternoon.

I spent the duration of our last family outing laying on the backseat reading the entire contents of the church program out-loud. As we returned home, my mother was muttering under her breath how disappointed she was that I had never even once looked out the window at the pastoral scenery. But why should I? Dad wasn’t going to slow down long enough to let anything outside the car window be more than just a blur of color.

So my heart goes out to little Maddox Jolie-Pitt who had to endure the humiliation of having his family’s overzealous bodyguards beat up some photographers during his family’s tour of Pune, in the process potentially damaging the family’s reputation and quite possibly causing a lawsuit. Dear Maddox, there are much worse things that can happen to you during a Sunday afternoon drive…

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